Sharks rebound in
OttawaBoucher and a 4 minute power play pace
win2/26/09 - By Mike Lee

The dog
days of the lengthy NHL season have hit their most grueling stretch, and that
was clearly evident in Ottawa , as the Sharks played for the second consecutive
night. San Jose followed up their disappointing performance in Detroit with
another lackluster effort in Canadas capital, but unlike their whipping
in Michigan, the Sharks took advantage of a 4-minute power play to take a 2-1
decision at Scotiabank Place.

Evgeni Nabokov was given the night off,
and Brian Boucher stepped in to stop 23 of 24 shots. The solid performance in
net was just what the doctor ordered. San Jose did continue their discouraging
trend of surrendering the first goal of the game, but Bouchers solid play
over the final 46 minutes helped the Sharks record their 93rd point of the
season.

Mike Fisher staked the Senators to a 1-0 lead at 13:46 of the
opening period on an Ottawa power play. Tomas Plihal put the Senators on the
man-advantage after tripping Nick Foligno. Fisher deflected a Chris Campoli
shot past Boucher, but thats the only blemish the Sharks goaltender would
allow.

Ottawa would go on a penalty streak, committing 4 straight
infractions in the middle period. Jarkko Ruutu and Brian Lee took hooking
penalties 2:21 apart, but the Sharks lethargic power play was unable to
generate any pressure on Senators goaltender Alex Auld.

Lee was
whistled for a holding penalty at 9:39 of the period, then added to his
misfortune by mouthing off to the officials. That earned him another two
minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct and the Sharks took advantage.

Milan Michalek tied the game with 13 seconds remaining on Lees first
penalty on a redirect in front of the Ottawa net. Joe Pavelski created the
chance by carrying the puck into the Senators zone, trying to wrist a shot on
goal. The shot ended up behind the net, but Pavelski beat defenseman Filip Kuba
to the puck and sent a feed to Michalek.

The Sharks put on a passing
clinic on the next goal. Dan Boyle faked a shot from the left point, and
instead sent a pass over to Joe Thornton near the right circle. Rather than
gather Boyles pass, Thornton snapped a pass to the high slot, where
Jeremy Roenick blasted it into a wide open net. Patrick Marleau was credited
with the goal, as it appeared to deflect off his skate as he tried getting out
of the way of the shot. Auld was outside the right post, still in position to
stop Thornton , had the Sharks centerman elected to shoot the puck. Instead,
the Sharks grabbed the 2-1 lead.

The goal was Marleaus 34th of
the season, which tied a career high.

Roenick just missed scoring with
9 minutes to play in the 3rd period. With the Sharks buzzing Auld, the
centerman had a scoring chance in close, but the Senators goaltender slid
across the crease to make the save.

Boucher gave the Sharks the big goaltending they
needed late in the game. The Sharks netminder stoned Jason Spezza twice with
under 3 minutes to play, preserving the thin 1-goal lead.

Senators
head coach Cory Clouston pulled Auld with just over a minute to play for the
extra attacker. Marleau had a chance to cap the game with an empty-net chance
from inside the Ottawa blueline, but the Shark captains shot sailed wide
of the left post.

The Sharks clamped down to preserve Bouchers
10th win of the season. It was also Bouchers 1st career victory over the
Senators.

Game Notes:

Claude Lemieux was scratched
from the lineup.

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